Sony’s forthcoming successor to the PSP is expected to be one of the big headline-grabbers next week at E3, but in advance of that mega-event, they’ve taken the wraps off of three titles gamers can expect to play on the NGP (which is heavily rumored to be called the PSVita).
First and foremost on the list is Uncharted: Golden Abyss, which is being developed by Bend Studios with collaboration from Uncharted creators Naughty Dog Games. The main thing Sony wants everyone to know is that Golden Abyss is an entirely new Nathan Drake adventure — it’s not a port of an existing Uncharted game. Oh, and also that they’re incorporating the NGP’s touchscreen controls right into the gameplay, so that you can interact directly with the environment instead of just mashing buttons. Looks pretty compelling, see for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W82RHqL8FDs
A whole new Wipeout experience is on the way, and the bullet point news item is the fact that this will be the first multiplayer title ever to interface between two game devices. Wipeout will let you play head-to-head against other NGP players, and PS3 players. Both. At the same time. Yowza. Once again, as you can see from this video, the touchscreen and six-axis controls factor heavily into the gameplay.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zGPJu2N2bI
Soundshapes is something unique. It’s a different kind of platformer where music and platforming become one and the same. Everything in the levels is synchronized to a sort of electronica/trance music, and manipulating things in the environment will add new notes, beats, and ever increasing complexity to the music. The video makes it look like you can’t really do anything wrong, with the key to the game being experimentation. You can even create your own levels and recordings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq_LSb6p6F0
Hustle Kings brings the popular PS3 billiards game to the new portable platform, taking advantage of (you guessed it) the touchscreen controls. Like Wipeout, this one will be cross-play enabled with the PS3, and even allow you to play it in turn-based mutliplayer rounds as each player comes online, a la Words With Friends. You can even use the six-axis to rotate the camera around your ball, and make use of the built-in still camera and microphone for chatting with friends.
The NGP version of Super Stardust Delta is not a port of Super Stardust Delta HD for PS3. Being the first portable gaming console with two sticks makes NGP ideal for a dual-stick space shooter like SSD. It will be playable with both familiar dual-stick controls, and an entirely new control scheme that’s made just for the NGP.
It would seem that the recurring theme we’re seeing here is that most (if not all) NGP games are employing intuitive use of touchscreen and motion-sensitive controls to let gamers interact with popular Sony franchises in a whole new way. Sony promises to provide plenty more details on all things NGP — and PS3 — at E3 next week.
